Softly In The Falling Snow
by Crimson's Void
Summary: It's Christmas Eve, and in the snowy evening, a former Ravenclaw has an annual tradition to keep up... and has a rather important question to ask.


**Softly In The Falling Snow**

By Crimson's Void

It was rather chilly out, she had to admit. A brisk wind nipped at her heels as she walked through the streets, causing the snow that was falling to whirl around as though it were dancing. Pulling her cloak tighter around her shoulders, Cho shivered, slowing her gait as she neared her destination.

The gate creaked as she pushed it open and slipped inside, clanging shut with a rather resolute sound. She stood there for a moment, surveying the area around her with a quick glance before stepping forward on the shoddy, cobblestone path, her footsteps echoing as she made her way to a grave near the back of the cemetery.

She paused when she was near enough, a small sigh slipping past her lips as she gazed upon the sorry sight. Ever since the Diggory's had passed, Cedric's grave had been untended, left uncared for to the elements. Stray branches and leaves littered the flat headstone, and weeds grew in tangled masses around it's edges. Kneeling down next to the marker, Cho busied herself with clearing away the debris cluttered around the last remnant of her first love.

She did this every holiday season, visited his grave and kept him up to date on the things that had happened since his passing. She'd been doing it since he died – and even during the war, when she hadn't been able to visit him physically, had barricaded herself inside some empty room and spoken to his memory as plainly as if he was right next to her. It had been ten years since Cedric has died, and Cho had kept up faithfully with her continued inclusion of him in her life.

Sometimes there wasn't much to say, and she'd simply sit next to him for hours in companionable silence. Other times, she'd chatter endlessly about things that had happened since her last visit, how she was doing, what was going on in her day to day. She held nothing back from him, as she had held nothing back when he'd been alive. Sometimes it felt like he'd never really left her.

Today was different, though. Resting on her knees, fiddling with her coat, she was unsure of how to start her conversation today. Usually on Christmas Eve, it was hard to stay silent in front of him. This time, it was hard to speak. Glancing up at the evening sky, she sighed.

"Hello, Cedric. Happy Christmas... "

Well, that was as good a way to start as any, she supposed. Breathing deeply, she looked back down at the headstone and continued.

"Sometimes I can't believe it's been ten years already. It seems like just yesterday we were still at Hogwarts. Going to Hogsmeade, drinking butterbeer... dancing at the Yule Ball.

"Do you remember the Yule Ball, Cedric? Merlin, it was so long ago, but it's still fresh in my mind. The decorations, the music, the dancing... you. Everything was so perfect. Sometimes I feel like it was the best night I'd ever had at Hogwarts."

Cho paused to breathe, wiping a stray tear from her face. Fondly tracing the carved letters of Cedric's name on the marble slab in front of her, she sighed. This next part would be the hardest.

"I'm getting off track, aren't I? I don't usually recount more than the past year when I visit. Where to start, though. Well, I got a job at the Daily Prophet, for starters. I'm an assistant for one of the sports reporters there, a man named Thaddeus Fielding. I've only been working there maybe a year now, but I love it. The Prophet's a much better paper than it was all those years ago; they don't report nearly as much trash as they used to.

"Being Mr. Fielding's assistant, I often get to go with him when he covers Quidditch games. We usually sit in one of the top boxes, and the view is incredible. Sometimes I even get to be in the room when he's interviewing the players, just to make sure he doesn't miss anything. Merlin, Cedric, you'd absolutely love it.

"We went to a game in March, Mr. Fielding and I. Between Puddlemere United and the Hollyhead Harpies. It was only the second game we'd gone to on official business since I was hired, and it was the first he let me sit in on the interviews. I was so jumpy and nervous, afraid I'd bungle it all and be fired. Of course I didn't, but that's beside the point. I ran into an old schoolmate afterwards, actually. Do you remember Oliver Wood? He was a year ahead of you, and captain of the Gryffindor Team. It turns out he plays keeper for Puddlemere now, isn't that exciting? He's quite good at it.

"After the match and the interviews, Oliver and I went out for a few drinks and talked. It was strange; usually I'm not very open with people, aside from you, but with Oliver I found myself talking more than I had to a single being in years. I'm not sure why, but I just felt so at ease with him."

Smiling softly as she reminisced the night she spoke of, Cho's hand fell from the headstone and into the snow at it's base, the cold melting through her thin cotton gloves easily. She ignored the stinging freeze, however, and spoke again.

"After that, Oliver and I met rather regularly. _Too _regularly, really, for two people who insisted they were only friends. Everyone else could see it, but we stubbornly refused to admit we might feel more for each other than that. To be honest, Cedric, I was scared. I'd begun to feel things I hadn't felt since my brief attraction to Harry in school, or the adoration I'd held for you. It felt bigger than that, even, and I was afraid to let anyone else into my life, afraid they'd be taken away from me if I did.

"I couldn't run from it though, in the end. We went together to the annual celebration held for the end of the Second Wizarding War. Emotions were running high, and we just...

"Well, collided would be an apt term, I suppose. We had a long talk the next morning, and from then on, we were a legitimate couple. It was fantastic; it _is_ fantastic, still. Oliver is terrific, and I... I truly think I love him.

"Oliver's asked me to marry him, Cedric. And while I've said yes in my heart already, I felt that I should at least get your blessing before I tell him." Taking in a deep breath, Cho swept her bangs out of her eyes, glancing up at the sky as she did so. Eyes closed, she stayed silent for several minutes, succumbing to the feeling of snowflakes landing softly on her face. Ebony hair salted with snow, her smile widened. Blinking the crystal flakes off her eyelashes, she leaned forward and placed a kiss on the headstone, then stood and walked towards the cemetery gate. Casting one last look behind her at Cedric's grave, she whispered one last goodbye before apparating away.

"Thank you, Cedric. Happy Christmas."


End file.
